Peltigera is a rather large genus of the Peltigeraceae with c. 100 species, including terricolous and muscicolous foliose macrolichens that are common and widespread in most continents. The genus is well defined by the absence of a lower cortex and the presence of a dense arachnoid-tomentose pilema that usually bears pale or dark veins with numerous rhizines. The European species were monographed by Vitikainen (1994), and a phylogenetic analysis of the genus, that includes 8 monophyletic sections, was published by Miadlikowska & Lutzoni (2000). Preliminary results from the phylogenetic study by Pardo De la Hoz & al. (2016) show that in section Chloropeltigera there are at least three new cryptic clades that should be recognized at species level. Similar results were obtained for other sections: the preliminary results of a phylogenetic study by Magain & al. (2016) showed a high number of cryptic species within phenotypically defined species: the number of Peltigera-species is likely increase to more than 170 when using various species discovery and validation methods.
The present key, which mostly follows those by Vitikainen (1994, 2007), includes the 23 species hitherto reported from Italy.

References

Magain N., Lutzoni F., Sérusiaux E., Truong C., Pardo-De la Hoz C.J., Niu D., Goward T., Zhurbenko M., Goffinet B., Vitikainen O., Miadlikowska J. 2016. The importance of spatio-temporal photobiont patterns for phylogenetic revisions and macroevolutionary studies of lichens: a worldwide case study of Peltigera. IAL 8, Book of Abstracts, Helsinki: 95.
Miadlikowska J., Lutzoni F. 2000. Phylogenetic revision of the genus Peltigera (lichen-forming Ascomycota) based on morphological, chemical and large subunit nuclear ribosomal DNA data. Int. J. Plant Sci., 161, 6: 925-958.
Pardo-De la Hoz C.J., Magaín N., Lutzoni F., Restrepo S., Miadlikowska J. 2016. Cryptic biodiversity and symbiotic patterns of association within the trimembered section Chloropeltigera IAL 8, Book of Abstracts, Helsinki: 62.
Vitikainen O. 1994. Taxonomic revision of Peltigera (lichenised Ascomycotina) in Europe. Acta Bot. Fenn., 152: 1-96.
Vitikainen O. 2007. Peltigeraceae. Nordic Lichen Flora, 3: 113-131.

Last modified: January, 4, 2024

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